Creativity Worth Defending.

The words original and authentic always give us a bit of a sigh. They’re tossed around too casually when it comes to any type of creative work. It feels like taking a shortcut instead of doing the deeper work. Original on its own isn’t a differentiator—it’s a catch-all for all of the real qualities that define creative authenticity. Being authentic or creating something original is not easy. It requires introspection, discovery, and exploration. Because without challenging ideas, without curiosity, without risk, what are we even doing?

We’re always looking for thoughtful, intentional ways to break convention. That comes with a commitment to our craft, and a focus on growing and learning in all areas that impact our work. Becoming the “specialist” or “expert” isn’t our goal. In fact, we’re not sure those words are all that relevant to our values.

What matters more is evolving and building our skill set. We are interested in gaining a deeper, more expansive understanding of what’s out there. Acquiring a breadth of knowledge needed to broaden our perspective—and applying that creative thinking across a diverse spectrum of work and a variety of project types. Not because we can, but because we want to. We see that range positively impact the work we do, the way we think, and how we define ourselves.

Specializing may feel like a more natural, safer move, but for us, narrowing our focus is risky in other ways—the biggest being creatively. When focus narrows too much, so do the ideas. Repetition creeps in. Process starts dictating creative decisions and creative risks disappear. Not taking risks limits creative thinking.

There is a constant push-pull between confidence and vulnerability with our creative approach. Vulnerability means you’re willing to explore ideas that aren’t safe or obvious—or completely defined by traditional success metrics. It means exposing the work to greater critique.

Your confidence is acknowledging that risk, and exploring it anyway. It’s having the courage to put it into the world, and to fight for it when others may want to go a different direction or a safer path.

This is where true differentiators begin to emerge. Where authenticity breaks through. It’s the result of deeper work. Getting to this point in the creative process is when talent, taste, perception, perspective, and skill work together. Talent gets you in the room. Taste defines your point of view. Curiosity and courage keep you growing. And that’s what matters to us.

There are thoughts and opinions everywhere about how AI is changing everything. And it’s true, it is changing the game. But the conversation we care about isn’t just about working faster. It’s about how this tool can strengthen the work, and why we’re doing the work in the first place. Practice, critique, adapt, evolve.

As access to creative tools expands, the bar only gets higher. If everyone gets a little faster and a little more polished, we have to push harder and think differently. It requires us to get the reps in and constantly set a new expectation for ourselves—just like it always has. And let’s be honest, people have been doing bullshit work forever. AI will certainly help make shitty design happen faster because creating good work has never been about taking shortcuts.

Creative work in our eyes will always be challenging because it requires pushing against the status quo and questioning traditional ways of thinking. Creativity takes grit. Iteration. Intelligence. The kind of work we want to do doesn’t follow formulas. It asks better questions. It pushes the edges. It demands not just a human—but a human’s perceptions, instincts, understanding, and skills to apply it.

The difference isn’t in the tool. Or the process. Or the convention. It’s in the vision behind it.

There is no universal equation for great work. And it certainly doesn’t come down to playing it safe or copying what has always worked. It comes from intention and standing behind creative convictions. That’s how originality happens—by building meaning into every decision, and defining yourself not by trends but by the strength of your vision and the depth of your skill.